Trespass

The campus got quiet at night. It was not a party school.

Grafton stood in the shadows of the dorm. He looked up.

Third floor.

He found the fire escape. He climbed.

He reached the window. He peered through the glass.

She was there. She was curled in bed, facing the wall.

He tapped the pane. Gently. A rhythm they hadn't agreed on, but one she would know.

It was unlatched. It slid up easily under his hand.

Grafton stepped over the sill and into the room.

He went to sit on the edge of the bed. The mattress dipped under his weight.

She turned. Her eyes were adjusting to the dark. Her lips trembled.

-You actually came, she whispered. I thought I might have dreamed this.

Her hand reached out. Her fingers found his shirt. She clung to the fabric, checking the solidity of him.

-Shh, he said.

He placed a finger on her lips and began to undo the buttons of her pajamas.

He pulled the silk apart. Her skin was pale in the dark.

She shivered.

He stood up. He undid his belt.

The buckle clinked and he slid into the bed.

He covered her body with his.

-You feel so real, she whispered. Better than the fantasies.

He kissed her, he entered her. She gasped.

A sharp intake of breath against his neck.

-Professor, she said. He didn't correct her.

-You're tight, he groaned. He began to move.

The bed creaked. She arched her back.

Her nails dug into his shoulders.

-Don't stop, she breathed.

He didn't. He drove into her. She fell apart first. A choked sob. He followed her.

He buried his face in her hair and let go.

Grafton lay still.

She melted against him. Her skin was slick.

They smelled.

The window was still open.

-That was intense, she murmured.

She tilted her head. She exposed her throat.

He leaned in. He grazed his teeth against her ear.

-The beauty of risk, he said.

His hand moved. It trailed over the sheets and the dampness.

He covered her hand with his. He guided her fingers to the wet spot.

She inhaled. Her hips moved. A small, involuntary roll against the mattress.

-You're making me feel things again, she whispered. So soon.

Grafton looked at the ceiling.

She nodded against his shoulder.

-I'd risk it all again, she said.

He closed his eyes.

-We will, he said.